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PRN dose of Klonopin...trying to stop taking it...help!


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Hello all!

 

I am a 28 year old male on the East Coast of the U.S.  I've been taking Klonopin for approximately nine months on a PRN basis.  In the past 12 days, I have had exactly one .5mg pill.  I am trying to stop taking the medicine and am having trouble (had a very bad anxiety attack the other day, high levels of anxiety in general).

 

Up until 12 days ago, I would take five .5mg pills per week.  Never any more than this amount.  I began taking the Klonopin nine months after I did a very slow taper off of Paxil (which I had been on for three and a half years) to control some lingering anxiety.  I would typically take the Klonopin three days in a row about 90 minutes before bed (1mg Sundays, 1mg Mondays, .5mg Tuesdays).  This worked very well and I have little anxiety during the time I was taking the stuff.  I refused to take it every day, as I didn't want to get hooked on the stuff and have an experience like I did with Paxil.

 

Now, I'm at a pretty good place in my life and would like to be pill-free.  My options right now (as I see it) are:

 

1.  Do not take any more Klonopin and just try to level out.

2.  Reduce the five .5mg pills to three .5mg pills and then more when ready.

3.  Switch over to Ativan PRN, which my doctor gave me the other day. 

 

I am desperate for some opinions of folks who have taken this medicine on a PRN basis and have kicked it permenatly.  Thank you all very much!

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Hello all!

 

I am a 28 year old male on the East Coast of the U.S.  I've been taking Klonopin for approximately nine months on a PRN basis.  In the past 12 days, I have had exactly one .5mg pill.  I am trying to stop taking the medicine and am having trouble (had a very bad anxiety attack the other day, high levels of anxiety in general).

 

Up until 12 days ago, I would take five .5mg pills per week.  Never any more than this amount.  I began taking the Klonopin nine months after I did a very slow taper off of Paxil (which I had been on for three and a half years) to control some lingering anxiety.  I would typically take the Klonopin three days in a row about 90 minutes before bed (1mg Sundays, 1mg Mondays, .5mg Tuesdays).  This worked very well and I have little anxiety during the time I was taking the stuff.  I refused to take it every day, as I didn't want to get hooked on the stuff and have an experience like I did with Paxil.

 

Now, I'm at a pretty good place in my life and would like to be pill-free.  My options right now (as I see it) are:

 

1.  Do not take any more Klonopin and just try to level out.

2.  Reduce the five .5mg pills to three .5mg pills and then more when ready.

3.  Switch over to Ativan PRN, which my doctor gave me the other day. 

 

I am desperate for some opinions of folks who have taken this medicine on a PRN basis and have kicked it permenatly.  Thank you all very much!

 

First off, don't switch to ativan. It is the same class of drugs, and you will be worse off for it as it is a short acting one, making it harder to come off.

Lets see. Has it been 12 days since your last dose? Or have you had some WITHIN 12 days? If your last dose was 12 days ago, I would think you are probably pretty safe to continue benzo free from this point, Though you may not feel very comfortable.

Another suggestion would be to reinstate at .25mg daily. If you do reinstate, do not take it intermittantly. you should settle on a daily dose, stabilize for a week or so, and taper from there. You could probably accomplish this pretty quickly. I think this might be a better option for you, would definitely level out your symptoms, but it's up to you.

Others will be by with their advice and opinions.

Welcome to BB :) 

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I agree about not switching to Ativan.  Much harder to taper from.  What does PRN mean?  I can't for the life of me figure it out...LOL  Maybe I'm havin a blond moment???

 

Jen

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I agree about not switching to Ativan.  Much harder to taper from.  What does PRN mean?  I can't for the life of me figure it out...LOL  Maybe I'm havin a blond moment???

 

Jen

 

It's an abbreviation for a latin medical term meaning "as needed" ;)

Don't ask me what the latin term is. :D

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.5  - 5x's a week will require a taper.

 

(cold turkey) is not a safe option.

 

do a direct taper from the drug you have now - that would be the least disruptive way to taper.

 

please supply all information regarding your present dose - you last dose and how you are doing - i would guess you would be uptight.

 

once someone supplies you with a taper plan - do not do any more prn - you may have to updose if you cut is too rough - but you need to keep a steady handle on what is happening.  if you have not been taking any - you may have to re-instate some of your dose to get a taper plan.

 

welcome to benzo buddies - this is a great supportive forum.

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I never took the Klonopin five times a week.  I only took it three days a week.  Sunday - 1mg.  Monday - 1mg.  Tuesday - .5mg. 

 

As it stands, I took .5mg on February 19 and .5mg on February 24.  Nothing else.  I am very anxious at the moment.  Looking for what I should do.  Thanks everyone!

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.5  - 5x's a week will require a taper.

 

(cold turkey) is not a safe option.

 

 

Maybe I am incorrect, but I believe Colin has said if one has been off for more than 2 weeks, it's better to just continue on rather than reinstate. If he has been off for 12 days, it may be better to just proceed. Klonopin has a half life of 40-200 hours, which means it leaves your system in about a week. I know it will be difficult, but I think the danger time line is past.Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

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I never took the Klonopin five times a week.  I only took it three days a week.  Sunday - 1mg.  Monday - 1mg.  Tuesday - .5mg.   

 

As it stands, I took .5mg on February 19 and .5mg on February 24.  Nothing else.  I am very anxious at the moment.  Looking for what I should do.  Thanks everyone!

 

Hii New Kid.

As I said in my first, if you are feeling very uncomfortable, an option would be to reinstate at a daily dose, but lower than what you were on, like .25mg. Important to make it daily and not intermittant. Then you can taper from that.    ;)

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I have been off for one week.  See above please.  Thoughts?

 

And you had only one other dose 5 days prior to that right?

 

This is like you went off 2 weeks ago and just did a one off (one time) dose a week ago.

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Yes.  That's right.

 

Now I'm sitting on my couch trying to chill out and not having much luck...leaning toward reaching for the ativan or the klonopin...don't know what to do  :(

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NK, whatever you decide to do, don't take ativan!

I think your best bet is to begin a smaller daily dose of klonopin and go from there. If you have .5mg pills take a half. If you have 1mg pills take a quarter. You will feel alot better.

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NK, whatever you decide to do, don't take ativan!

I think your best bet is to begin a smaller daily dose of klonopin and go from there. If you have .5mg pills take a half. If you have 1mg pills take a quarter. You will feel alot better.

 

Considering how I was taking it (three times a week, usually three days in a row before bed), you think I should go to a daily dose?  Isn't that just going to be harder to beat in the long run?

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NK, whatever you decide to do, don't take ativan!

I think your best bet is to begin a smaller daily dose of klonopin and go from there. If you have .5mg pills take a half. If you have 1mg pills take a quarter. You will feel alot better.

 

Considering how I was taking it (three times a week, usually three days in a row before bed), you think I should go to a daily dose?  Isn't that just going to be harder to beat in the long run?

No, because you would only stay on that long enough to stabilize (feel better), maybe a week or less, then you would do a taper from there. I think you would do fine on a .125mg taper every week or 2. It would probably take 1 month at the most.

 

 

Up until 12 days ago, I would take five .5mg pills per week.  Never any more than this amount.

 

By the way, you did say the above, in your first post. after you said you only took it 3 times a week. ;)

 

Did you mean three here?

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Ok, so if I was taking it like this:

 

Sunday - 1mg

Monday - 1mg

Tuesday - .5mg

 

How should I cut it back?  I am reaching for a .5mg now...I'm just too damn anxious.  Thank you very much for your help!

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Hi NK,

 

Since you are feeling so anxious and cold turkey is NOT a good option, Eljay suggested taking 1/2 of a .5 to get you stabilized.  That should take the edge off until you get a taper schedule.  Someone will help you with that soon.

 

Welcome to BB.  You can get off these drugs smoothly and safely.  Just hang on and stay in touch so we can help you.

 

Tropicalsoul

 

 

 

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Hi NK, I pm'd you back. It's good you took something.  Go ahead and reinstate on .25 tomorrow, and take it everyday! Let us know how it goes. 
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Ok, so if I was taking it like this:

 

Sunday - 1mg

Monday - 1mg

Tuesday - .5mg

 

How should I cut it back?  I am reaching for a .5mg now...I'm just too damn anxious.  Thank you very much for your help!

 

Ok, I get it now, you were taking 5 x .5mg spread over 3 days!  :yippee:

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Hi NK, I pm'd you back. It's good you took something.  Go ahead and reinstate on .25 tomorrow, and take it everyday! Let us know how it goes. 

 

Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.  I'm also going to see if I can't find a more competant local doctor.  My good one is about 100 miles away, unfortunately.  Wish me luck!

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I have been tapering for about 12 weeks from 2 mg Klonopin.(9 years) and I am nearing half way! The great people here at BBs have offered me some really helpfull advice and most of it I have taken.Unlike that of my GP. Which was abou 5 times more aggressive and would have made me feel like hell! We all have the same goal here. To get away from the Benzos. Some of the people on this site have read and heard of hundreds of stories like ours and really do put in some excellent tried and trued advice. I agree. Try to stabalise and this will help you to stay much calmer.Then go down every week or so by a small amount. Thats what most do. If you take .25mg per day for 7 days then you will take a total of 1.75mg for the week. This is still a lot less than the 2.5mg you were taking before. Maybe after a week or two you could cut to .125mg per day - so .875mg per week. I am no expert ! But when I made a cut of .25mg per day it was too much for me!

Hang in there! I am so glad that I foung BBs and I will be sticking by thier advice for a while yet! Goodluck and Take Care- Deedee

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If he has been off for 12 days, it may be better to just proceed. Klonopin has a half life of 40-200 hours, which means it leaves your system in about a week. I know it will be difficult, but I think the danger time line is past.

 

Jeez, I made a mistake here. Klonopin has a half life of 18-50 hours. So sorry if I caused any confusion. I'll blame it on sleep deprivation.  :crazy:

It still means it would take about a week to fully leave your system.

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Hi New Kid,

 

How are you feeling now? Have you reinstated?

 

Yours is an unusual situation. If I understand correctly, you would usually take Clonazepam for three days and then take four days off. After four days, if you metabolise Clonazepam at the slower end of the scale, your blood levels will have dropped to about 25%. If you metabolise it towards the faster end of the scale, your blood levels will have dropped to about 3%. I would think that 25% would be enough for you body to become accustomed to Clonazepam (and for you to develop dependency), but 3% probably is not. At the end-of-the-day though, you are experiencing withdrawal (and this is the important issue), so you probably metabolise Clonazepam at a slower rate than someone else might. Since the most you could have in your system after four days is about 25% of that immediately after your last dose, then I think reinstating at a dose of just 25% of you usual dose would be the way to go. Your average dose over those three days is just less than 1mg, so 0.25mg (half of a 0.5mg tablet) would be the obvious dose to take. This happens to correspond with Eljay's suggestion!

 

When I first started to read your post, I did wonder if you should stay off, but since you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and the figures suggest that you may well have significant levels of benzo in your system after four days, a taper would be advisable. In all probability, your taper would not e very drawn out. As Eljay suggested, stabilise your dose for a week at 0.25mg daily, and then start a taper. I know, difficult to do with these tiny tablets, but you might powder up your benzo, add it to glass of milk or water, and drink just a proportion of the liquid to exact a cut to your dose. Perhaps drinking just three-quarters of the liquid (this would equate to 3/4 of your 0.25mg dose), and do this to your dose each day for a week or two (or when you feel you have adjusted to the cut). You would then move to drinking just half the liquid - again, stick to this dose until you fell you have adjusted to it. Then, of course, down to just a quarter of the liquid for a week or two. If you feel these cuts to your dose are too large, you can make them smaller to suit. In the unlikely event that you need something more exacting that this, we can provide a schedule for you, and you would taper of with a liquid made up in measuring cylinder. Honestly though, you should be fine doing this by eye - you level of dependency must be low.

 

What do you think?

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Hi New Kid,

 

How are you feeling now? Have you reinstated?

 

Yours is an unusual situation. If I understand correctly, you would usually take Clonazepam for three days and then take four days off. After four days, if you metabolise Clonazepam at the slower end of the scale, your blood levels will have dropped to about 25%. If you metabolise it towards the faster end of the scale, your blood levels will have dropped to about 3%. I would think that 25% would be enough for you body to become accustomed to Clonazepam (and for you to develop dependency), but 3% probably is not. At the end-of-the-day though, you are experiencing withdrawal (and this is the important issue), so you probably metabolise Clonazepam at a slower rate than someone else might. Since the most you could have in your system after four days is about 25% of that immediately after your last dose, then I think reinstating at a dose of just 25% of you usual dose would be the way to go. Your average dose over those three days is just less than 1mg, so 0.25mg (half of a 0.5mg tablet) would be the obvious dose to take. This happens to correspond with Eljay's suggestion!

 

When I first started to read your post, I did wonder if you should stay off, but since you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, and the figures suggest that you may well have significant levels of benzo in your system after four days, a taper would be advisable. In all probability, your taper would not e very drawn out. As Eljay suggested, stabilise your dose for a week at 0.25mg daily, and then start a taper. I know, difficult to do with these tiny tablets, but you might powder up your benzo, add it to glass of milk or water, and drink just a proportion of the liquid to exact a cut to your dose. Perhaps drinking just three-quarters of the liquid (this would equate to 3/4 of your 0.25mg dose), and do this to your dose each day for a week or two (or when you feel you have adjusted to the cut). You would then move to drinking just half the liquid - again, stick to this dose until you fell you have adjusted to it. Then, of course, down to just a quarter of the liquid for a week or two. If you feel these cuts to your dose are too large, you can make them smaller to suit. In the unlikely event that you need something more exacting that this, we can provide a schedule for you, and you would taper of with a liquid made up in measuring cylinder. Honestly though, you should be fine doing this by eye - you level of dependency must be low.

 

What do you think?

 

The consensus seems to be that I should go to .25mg a day for around a week to stabilize, which is exactly what I have done the past two nights.  It's been a little rough.  Lots and lots of anxiety.  I thought the way I was taking the med wouldn't lead to any sort of adverse discontinuation effects.  Also, why does the anxiety always seem to feel worst at night when I'm trying to sleep? 

 

I'm currently searching around for a better local doctor to advise me and help boost my confidence.  I don't know how some of you guys have managed to beat this stuff (after taking a great, great deal more than me).  I wasn't even taking it every day!  This is crazy!  Please wish me luck.   

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Hi,

 

Because Clonazepam has an averagely long half-life (it leaves your system quite slowly), this also means that it is slow to build up in your system. So, your blood levels will continue to rise significantly for a few more days yet - you will probably notice some improvement by the end of the seven days. ;)

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